The world's first amphibious ice cream van has made its way down the Thames this week to the surprise of sunseekers.

The special vehicle was created to promote awareness of how the traditional ice cream van trade is struggling in the modern era.

The 'HMS Flake 99' launched in Blackpool, before sailing down the London river to mark National Ice Cream Day.

"I'm the captain of a floating ice cream van. It's crazy!" driver Dave Mounfield told the Daily Mail. "I came up with the idea because of the increasing number of exclusion zones and decreasing amount of ice cream vans on the roads."

"I hope our amphibious van marks the start of a great revival of the ice cream trade on UK shores," he added.

The number of ice cream vans across England has fallen from 20,000 to just 5,000 over the past 50 years, and the industry is facing a growing number of bans from popular sites such as parks and outside schools.

The amphibious ice cream van is to begin a tour of Britain's best beaches before attempting to cross the Channel next year.